Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

the Socialist Republic of Vietnam continues to apply the death penalty, with at least 19 reported executions in 2008 alone,

(ii)

the right to life is a fundamental human right recognised in:

(a)

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which both Australia and Vietnam are parties, and

(b)

the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which both Australia and Vietnam are parties,

(iii)

respect for human life and dignity are values common to Australia and Vietnam,

(iv)

abhorrence of the death penalty is a fundamental value in Australian society, and

(v)

Australia is a party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is aimed at the universal abolition of the death penalty; and

(b)

calls on the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to follow the example recently set by Uzbekistan and Argentina and immediately cease all executions and waive the death sentences of some 59 prisoners currently awaiting execution.